Saving my Valentine's day
by IV Red
Summary: Chaos is over, Bowser is defeated, the sheikah is free. But what happens to those hollow heroes' hearts? Roy has found the correct one. Peach doesn't find her Mr.Right... he finds her. MarthxPeach, RoyxSamus COMPLETE!
1. Breakup in Final Destination

**If you see any spelling mistake, please let me know, English isn't my first idiom.**_What's written like this are thoughts._ "These are dialogues." **Don't hurt me, but I think this chapter is not good. It had to be dramatic, but I'm not good at writing drama!**

_Saving my Valentine's day._

**_Chapter one: Break-up in Final Destination._**

Peach's legs were starting to hurt as she continued to run through the various stages of the Smash stadium.

_Don't stop, Peach, keep runing. _Was all she was thinking in that moment.

Tears rolled down her cheeks, and she was starting to notice that high heels weren't a good choice for runing, but she needed to get away, she needed to run from it all, she needed to forget.

"Peach! Wait! I'm-a sorry!" The italian accent made obvious who it was, but the princess kept runing. Yes, she needed to get away from him.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -10 minutes before- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Peach and Mario sat on the first stage, Peach's Castle, which of course was just a replica. Mario seemed quite depressed, but mostly confused, and Peach looked just concerned for him.

"Now what did you want to talk about?" The princess asked.

"Peach, I've been-a thinking... and I guess... well..." From there he began to stammer incoherently, making it impossible for her to understand.

Peach sighed. "Mario, tell me please" He seemed to be having a hard time telling her wathever he was trying to tell. But the princess wasn't very patient, and her face showed it. Finally, he spoke.

"... I think we should-a break up."

"What?" Her mind refused to belive what she heard, but deep inside she knew it wasn't a nightmare.

"I'm- a sorry, but we'll still be fri-" he was cut short as Peach just stood up and ran out of the arena. The plumber stood up too and started to follow her.

But this was the best for both, Mario repeated himself. Ganondorf was right.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_Ignore him, it's all his fault! _Peach thought, as she was getting near the last stage, Final Destination. Where would she run then?

Soon, she reached the arena, there was nowhere else to go, and her so called 'hero' was pproaching her.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -30 minutes before- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Mario sat down in the cafeteria, alone. It was everyday routine, except that day Luigi wasn't eating with him. As usual, Peach was sitting with Zelda, chatting and laughing. Probably Peach was making Zelda blush to death, asking her about her relationship with the Hero of Time... as per usual.

Loud footsteps sounded, and Ganondorf entered the place. Neither the smashers or the plumber payed attention, but the sorcerer walked towards him.

The italian man raised an eyebrow as his enemy's friend sat across from him.

"What brings you-a here, Ganon?" He asked, starting to eat his pasta, not even trying to sound friendly.

"Ah, just wanted to talk, how are you doing?" There were three explanations for this in Mario's little brain: a)Ganondorf bacame good, b)Ganondorf got brainwashed, or c)Ganondorf was a very good actor.

Not picking any of them, our hero decided to be just careful.

"I'm doing good, thank you."

Some seconds of silence followed his words, as the two ate without looking at each other.

"So... you and Peach are still together?" Ganondorf's eyes didn't leave his food, and his voice sounded just half-interested in knowing.

"Perfect, we're spending a lot-a time together." In fact, their relationship couldn't have been better. They saw each other very often, and Mario was even starting to think about marriage. He was even trying to supress his accent, as he thought it wasbeginning to annoy her.

Ganon chuckled.

"What's-a so funny?" The fork with pasta stopped half the way to Mario's mouth.

"Nothing, nothing... I was just wondering, don't you two get bored of each other's company? Don't you want to take a break from her once in a while?"

The plumber didn't find this question suspicious, even considering that Bowser seemed to be good friends with Ganondorf. Anyway, he continued eating, closed his eyes, and sharply answered.

"No."

Ganondorf's face showed an expression that Mario didn't notice. One he wouldn't be able to decipher anyway.

"What about... well, you?"

"What about-a me?"

"You know... a princess and a plumber? I thought princesses married princes."

This seemed to touch the italian. "Or heros." He completed, with a slighly annoyed tone. However, Ganon suspected he was just hiding fear.

"Really? In the storys I know, the hero and the princess didn't or couldn't marry for various reasons, or the hero ended up dead." Mario was silent.

The scoreboard? 1 point Ganondorf, -1 confidence Mario. Ouch.

The big-nosed, evil man continued. "Is really strange to see you two together, anyone would think that she deserves something better. Anyway, I have to go."

And with that, Ganon left, throwing to the trash can his plate and remains of food. Leaving a silent plumber siting in the table, with a half-eaten pasta in front and a lot of things to think about.

And in a dark corner, Bowser smirked. He owed Ganon some cash, but hopefully Peach would be his soon.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Peach, please understand..." Mario's pleading voice did nothing but increase the anger in Peach. How could he want her to nod and say 'okay', even now when their relationship was going so well?

He placed his hand in her shoulder, trying to comforther. She was just getting angrier. Though it was uncharacteristic of the princess, it didn't take long for her to reach the point where she couldn't take it any longer.

"How the hell can you say that? You know what? This is over! I don't want to see your fat, italian person again!" The tears that filled her eyes were now of anger instead of sadness.

She headed out of the arenas, and Mario was left silent again... with the difference that this time, he didn't have any pasta.

Peach walked quickly, she was going home.

Though she seemed just angry, her heart was pretty much beating the hell out of itself, what would she do now? who would be there to protect her from the persistent Bowser?

How in the Mushroom Kingdom's name would she forget about Mario?

And how dare he leave her when Valentine's day was so near?

She walked through the cafeteria, no longer crying. Forgetting was going to be hard indeed, but an answer soon came to the princess: _I just have to find someone else, I have to get a new boyfriend! _

With this idea, Peach smiled for a second. Meanwhile, Marth and Roy noticed her eyes were swollen and, as every true gentleman or gentleman-wannabe would, walked up to her. "Princess Peach, are you okay?" The blue-haired prince asked.

"Yes, I am." she answered absently.

With that, the swordsmen just shrugged and returned to their table. Peach was already out of the place, heading for her castle.

_Yes, getting a new boyfriend is what I have to do._

_But who?_

**There's the first chapter. I'm glad the dramatic part ended, I'm not good at drama. Don't worry, the next chapter will be a lot better. **

**Tell me in your review who Peach should pick, and don't forget this: If I don't get reviews, this things is over. If I get them quickly, I'll update quickly... I guess.**


	2. Of Swords and Hearts

**Wow... I didn't think someone was going to review the horrible first chapter. Well, thanks to those reviews, here's the second one. And Peachfan...thanks for the suggestion, I'm going to do that, but note that both Roy and Marth will suffer a lot. It is impossible to please all reader since they might have different opinions,I'm sorry Royal Kenya. I read good author's stories even if I don't like the couples, and I'm not saying I'm a good anuthor, but please read!**

**A big thanks to GKUCutie for the fav, I hope you like this chapter!**

_Saving my Valentine's day._

_**Chapter two: Of swords and hearts.**_

Another day at the Smash stadium, another day closer to Valentine's day. Peach entered though the double doors, decision burning in her eyes.

"Hey Peach, I heard about your break-up yesterday, you okay?" Zelda looked concerned,but relieved as she saw her friend didn't look sad at all.

"Yeah, I'm okay..." Though Peach was concentrating in her mission of getting a new boyfriend, she still felt a litle sad.

"Come on, let's drink something while you tell me about that." Zelda said as they both headed for the cafeteria.

As they entered, their eyes saw the same scene as everyday. Ganondorf sitting with Bowser in the last table, which was half covered by shadws. The Ice Climbers sitting in the table next to them... Peach sometimes wondered if they would get bored of each other. Fox, Falco and Mewtwo, all of them with serious faces discussing matters that the princess didn't knew about. Kirby, Young Link, Yoshi and Ness laughing their heads off for no apparent reason.

And a long list of smashers weren't there, as they didn't have any battle, to Peach's happiness, Mario apparently was one of them, as Luigi and Dr. Mario weren't with him.

The princesses sat in their usual table, and in the one next to it, sat Marth, Roy, Link and Samus, who was generally labeled as 'tomboy' for that.

"It's so sad... this would not he happening with Valentine's day so near..." Said Zelda, looking at her teacup, but yet not drinking.

"It is. But I have a plan Zel... I'm going to get a new boyfriend." Peach sipped her tea and closed her eyes in deep thought... she still hadn't decided who would that be.

She didn't see her friend's excited face."Really? Peach that's great! But who?"

"That's the problem, I don't know."

"But there a lot of men more...handsome than Mario." Peach couldn't help but laugh.

"You are right,but it's not that easy..."

"I know, you aren't the kind of girl who goes out with someone without feeling anthing for him." She nodded, and Zelda continued. "But aren't you interested in anyone?"

This question caught the Mushroom Kingdom's princess off guard... was she?

In fact she had felt some kind of crush, a while ago, though it had vanished as quickly as it appeared. She remembered those days clearly... two new fighters arrived, and she was completely surprised. With this in mind, she nodded again.

"Why didn't you tell me before!"

"It was just a crush!"

"...it was? Nothing left now?" Peach thought about this a little, but couldn't answer that. And though her mind screamed yes, she just shrugged.

Zelda smiled, she always knew how to take the info (or gossip) out of Peach.

"At least tell me who."

The princess blushed, as she pointed with a shaky hand to the table nearby. Zelda looked to where her finger pointed, then back at her, with a childish giggle.

Though these princesses could be the living definition of class and elegance, together they went back to acting as schoolgirls. They had found a real friend in eachother, something difficult for people of royalty, so what was the point of keeping manners?

Zelda's giggle and Peach's now red face were the answer to that.

"...so?Are you going to help me?"

"Don't worry Peach. I'll get you a date with Marth. Trust me."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Zelda walked into the Temple, where Marth and Roy were training. She watched them for a moment, unseen.

Roy fell backwards, and Marth pointed his sword to his troath. "Enough, I win." The prince al Altea said, seathing his sword. Roy got up frwoning, he hated to lose, even if it was mere training.

"Hello." Zelda walked to them, waving.

"Hello princess." Both answered, in unison, waving back.

"What brings you here?" Asked Marth as he sat in a ledge.

"Just wanted to ask if you would like to eat dinner with me and Peach."

"Sure!" Roy spoke for the two, sounding excited.

"Great! In her castle, around 8 P.M." With that, Zelda left them. And right out of the arena, Peach was waiting. "Zel, I don't think this will work... Roy will be there too..."

"Again, don't worry. Roy never shows up, no matter how many times he had been asked to go out."

"Are you sure?"

"Kind of."

"I have a bad feeling about this."

"Peach..."

"I know... 'trust me'"

"Exactly." The two left. Bowser smirked, their plan would not work.And in the arena, the swordsmen sat, taking a break from the training.

"You're going to appear this time, aren't you?" Asked Marth, who was quite annoyed with Roy's habit of never shwoing up. Though this time his friend seemed kind of excited.

"I'm not going to miss this!" Marth raised an eyebrow as he heard this.

"Is it because of Zelda?" He guessed.

"Zelda? No way... Link would kill me..." Suddenly, Roy found his shoes to be much more interesting than Marth, and kept looking at them as he continued. "It's about Peach..."

He was so interested in his own shoe, that he didn't notice Marth's confused face.

_Roy... he likes her... but... but I... _He thought, his eyes darting left and right. Then he looked down, hiding his face.

His heart was beating at double speed, and he felt as if it would stop at any moment.

"Could you do me a favor?"

"What is it Roy?"

"Would you... not go? I want to... you know... be alone with her..."

Though the red-haired swordsman was still looking at his shoes, Marth had to look away, this time trying to hide the tears that were starting to form in his eyes. _You lost, Marth. It is too late to do something now. He is your best friend, are you going to betray him? _The prince of Altea thought, before answering.

"...okay. But what about Zelda? She'll be there too."

"Don't worry, she won't be a problem." Roy stood up, heading for the exit.

Marth just watched him go. "Marth?" He said as he opened the door that led to the hall, stoping, not looking at him but showing only his back.

"Yes?"

"...thank you."

**There it is, people. Yes, it was short, but I thought that it would be cool to end it there. And I think this chapter was actually good.**

**At the start I tried to make this chapter humorous... but then I began to listen to music from The Legend of Zelda: the Wind Waker. Has any of you played that game? remember the music you hear when you find Laruto's spirit in the Earth Temple? That's what what I was hearing to. And you see how it turned out.**

**Back to topic. Now Peach will be alone with Roy, as Zelda will not be there (supossedly to leave her alone with Marth), but this fic will still be a MarthxPeach, don't worry fans of the couple!**

**... wonder what Bowser is up to...**


	3. Kenshin

**I'm sorry for not updating, but my PC was screwed! Damn, I'm very, very sorry. This chapter is short, but I hope it is not too bad.**

**Thanks for the reviews! Keep them coming, because no reviews means no more story. Oh, and 'Kenshin' (the title of this chapter) means Heart of Sword or something like that. In other words, by Kenshin I meant Roy. Yeah I couldn't think of any good title.**

**I'd like tothank Foxdude for the fav... I really hope this chapter is f your liking. Dude, you rock. I would try to be modest, but it's true, I put a lot of effort in this thing.**

_Saving my Valentine's day._

**_Chapter three: Kenshin._**

The doorbell rang, and in less than 10 seconds, Peach opened the door,a smile in her lips.

A smile which dissapeared as she didn't see Marth, but Roy, dressed in his usual attire, the only differenc was that he didn't bring his sword or armor. _Damn Zelda, you said he wouldn't come!_ She gave him a fake smile, and stepped aside, motioning him to enter.

"Good evening. Isn't Zelda here?" Roy asked, praying that the answer was no.

"She couldn't come. Apparently something popped up."

"Oh I see, Marth won't be joining us either."

"Why?" Peach tried not to sound so... annoyed. Seems like she's a pretty god actress, as it actually worked.

"Umm..." Roy paused, as he hadn't thought of an excuse. "Something popped up too."

They walked to the dining room, which was gigantic,silently.Peach was quite angry by now. She had even tried to cook for Marth, and he didn't even come!

In the other side, Roy was slightly embarrsed. Finally he was alone with her, but what could he do? How should he act?

In awkward silence they sat,one across eachother in the big table, but even before they could move a muscle...

"Don't you smell smoke?" Asked Roy.

"Oh my god the dinner!" Peach ran to the kitchen. She was so used to having Toad taking the food to the table that she had forgoten that she was the one cooking it.

Roy heard various curses, and some minutes later, Peach reapppeared in the dining room, smoke behind her. "The dinner... is gone..." She said between coughs. Oh, what a lovely way to start the night. Wrong date and burnt food.

"Well... I know a nice restaurant, and it's pretty near from here... I could take you there- I mean, if you want." He was blushing a deep scarlet, and though it was weird, Peach found this... cute.

_Hello! Already forgetting Marth?_ Her mind yelled, but it couldn't be helped.

She smiled brightly and nodded. "I would like that."

Roy smiled back. "Well then, let's go." He grabbed her hand, and led her outside.

Maybe it wouldn't be that bad after all.

But then why did she feel that it was wrong? Why did her chest feel so heavy?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Samus sat in the table alone. It was too early, the cafeteria was empty, except for her lonely figure. As she would be alone for a couple of hours, she hadn't seen a point in using her combat suit. She had it on a bag, which was in the floor, next to the table.

"Samus? What are you doing here?"

Startled, she turned around, only to find Roy's concerned face. Surprise replaced concern as he saw her without th armor.He had never seen her like that before, and though someone else was on his mind, he couldn't help but think she looked beautiful.

"I just came here to think. I would like to be alone, if you don't mind." Samus said bitterly. She was regretting being there without her combat suit... a canon would be useful.

He laughed a little, ignoring her last sentence. "What a coincidence, I came here to think too. Why did you choose this place?"

"I just like it here. Now leave me alone... please."

"What are you thinking about? Is something bothering you?"

"You are bothering me right now." _Damn it, I said please! Can't you go away and let me have a moment of peace?_

Roy sat down next to her. "Come on Samus, stop acting defensive. Tell me what's bothering you."

Now furious, she turned to face him, strands of blonde hair in front of her eyes. "You are bothering me, now go away." She hissed, but this did not scare the pyro swordsman in the slightest.

He sighed, and stood up. "Whenever you need to talk to someone, remember, I'm here for you."

Her eyes opened wide, and she nodded, feeling thankful though she might never tell it. "That's what friends are for." He added, before walking to the door that led to the arenas. If she didn't want him there, he had to find another place to sit and think.

And so, he decided Termina would be a good place, then started walking towards there. He stood in the entrance to the arena, standing in some sort of plataform that suddenly began moving, taking him to the center of the place.

Samus had watched him go, and started to follow him. Why was she doing that? Well, it seemed that he needed to think, and she wanted to know about what. _That's what friends are for._ She thought, repeating his words.

He was sitting there, in the lower plataform with the owl statue. His eyes were on his reflection in the water. Yes, there was something in his mind, someone to be specific.

"And what is bothering you?" Samus said, adding extra emphasis in the word 'you'.

"Umm... you?" Roy answered, a forced smile in his face.

But his eyes did not lie, and the bounty hunter noticed that.

"Who's on your mind?" He raised an eyebrow at this question, and she grinned. "I know you're thinking about someone. Tell me."

"Peach. I was with her yesterday... and, well..." His voice was lost, and she raised an eyebrow. "Tell me, it'll help."

He was stubborn, though not nearly as much as her, so he spoke. "You see, we were supossed to eat with Marth and Zelda. Zelda couldn't go... and I asked Marth not to go, so we were alone."

"That doesn't sound bad."

"It's not that. You see, dinner burnt and I took her to a restaurant." He paused again.

"Roy, hurry up."

"Okay... when we went back to her castle, we stayed outside. We sat in the back yard and started talking. It was pretty late then." Again, he stopped, and Samus gave him an annoyed look, motioning him to continue.

"I... well, I hugged her, and she fell asleep."

"It was late, she should have been tired, what did you expect?"

"It's not that! Can't you wait until I finish?" She rolled her eyes. "She spoke while she was sleeping. She said 'I love you'."

"Idiot... You should be happy!"

"...she didn't say my name." Samus stopped, mouth open. "Then who's?"

"Marth."

Neither spoke. The usual sparkle in Roy's eyes was gone.

He couldn't hold it back any longer, and he cried. Time waited for him to end while he cried in Samus' shoulder. He was broken, and his heart felt as Marth's had the day before.

A heart of sword, bleeding, but still beating. Roy wished it would stop, just as life had stopped having sense.

**I hope you guys keep reviewing. When I was able to use my computer again, seeing your reviews made me want to write instantly.Yeah, this was entirely focused on Roy, but next chapter will be only for Marth and Peach. Do you guys notice how all bad things start in that damned cafeteria? Fear it!**

**Probably you're all sick of all this angsty/dramatic shit, but I like to write it. Anyway, some romance coming in next chapter. It's about time to get to the Marth/Peach fluff!**


	4. The Fountain of Dreams and an old crush

**I'm really happy with your reviews, all of you telling me this is good, it really makes me want to write more. Ah, don't worry about Roy people, he'll be okay, but GKUCutie discovered my plans for him!**

**Good news! As ptpeach asked for, I'll try to add more romance, though maybe not in this chapter. I know I said MarthxPeach would come in this one, but I promise the next chapter will have romance! Another good new, I believe this chapter is the best one so far.**

**I'm sorry for taking so long... Oh yeah, to all of us Valentine's day is already left behind, but in the story it is not.**

_Saving my Valentine's day._

**_Chapter Four: The Fountain of Dreams and the old crush._**

The light of day entered lazily through the windows. It danced in the air, then rested in the bed below, while the alarm clock started beeping.

Marth opened one of his deep blue eyes, mumbling in doscomfort. One of his hands came from under the covers to shut the annoying beep. When he fianlly found the correct button and had a moment to enjoy silence, memories flooded his mind, haunting him like endless, vivid nightmares.

_Roy's date... I wonder what happened... aw, damn, I shouldn't be thinking about that! _Still sleepy, he stood up and walked to the bathroom, trying to get the subject out of his thoughts. _But what could have happened? Does she... feel the same way towards him?_

He slapped himself mentally, reminding himself that no matter how much he worried about that, it realy was none of his business.

The cold water of the shower pulled him out of his pondering, and back into reality. Marth relaxed as the water fell coldly into his face and slipped to his chest. Eyes closed, he breathed deeply and allowed the water to clean his thoughts, too.

A long day awaited, and though he wasn't exactly ready, he had to get going. The calendar indicated February 13th.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Shadows, shadows all around him, and nothing else. But they were perfect company; always silent, always there. His mind wandered aimlessly, so did his eyes, scanning the area, but finding nothing worth examining near that building.

Several figures were entering, all of them oblibvious to his presence. He watched them carefully, but the one he was waiting for was not there.

The next figure that appeared was one he enjoyed to see. He stared at her longingly, but forced himself to stay hidden, as Peach was a distraction he had to ignore for the time being, though all of his work, all he was doing, was only for her.

Watching the figures, he looked somewhat proud, as a king watching his land, but he had reasons to feel like that, after all, he was in control, and he could decide who was allowed to live and who deserved to die. Oh, scratch that, manipulating them was far ore interesting. Sharpd fangs showed in a devilish smile, as king Bowser Koopa waited for the prince of Altea to appear.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Marth glanced around him, feeling rather uncomfortable. Though he was labeling himself as paranoid at the mere thought, he felt... watched. As if some kinf of predator lurked in the shadows, looking at him as it's prey.

_Paranoid idiot. Just keep walking, the stadium isn't so far away and you're already late._ With a sigh he continued his way.

The Smash Stadium was already visible,but the strange feeling continued, needles to say freaking him out. When he was about to open the front door, that feeling had become too strong to ignore it, and he stopped, looking around and trying to hear anything. But he was completely alone, and the wind was the only sound.

And though it was exactly what he was trying to avoid, the moment of calmness allowed his confused mind to wonder once again about Peach and Roy. A sudden wave of sadneesappeared clearly in his eyes as his fingers rested in the doorknob. He wasn't ready to enter and face them, what if he opened the door and the first thing he sees is them holding hands? What if...?

_What if you're all dramatic about this and nothing happened? Just go, wathever happens, you won't be able to change it._

"Something wrong, prince Marth?"

He turned around his heart racing. In front of him was now Bowser, smirking and looking at him with mock in his piercing gaze.

"Nothing." He answered, glaring. The koopa glared back, directly into his eyes, as if studying him, reading him as a book.

"I would say you are worried about something, most likely someone, am I right?"

Blue eyes grew wide, how did he found out? Would it be through that soul-piercing gaze? Either way, his reaction seemed to please the king of koopas, as his smirk widened. Marth couldn't find his voice to answer and he wasn't sure of what to say, so he remained silent and Bowser continued.

"Have you, by chance, seen princess Peach?"

"No, but it's quite obvious, we're late." He answered with an eyebrow raised.

"Oh, how foolish of me to forget! She must be with prince Roy!"

"With Roy?"

"Yes, I think I saw them last night. Seems like Roy has gotten himself a girlfriend, aren't you happy?"

Marth looked down, unable to say he wasn't happy at all. "Yeah, I am..."

His voice made it clear that he was lying, but that was something Bowser already knew. A few seconds passed, until the koopa decided to break silence with his deep-voiced laugh.

"What's so funny?" Bowser laughed a bit more loudly and ignored the question.

"Why do you lie, prince? Guess it's just bad luck, but it must hurt to see your best friend steal the heart of the woman you want. Ah, but they're both happy, and you still think about her! You shouldn't ruin their hapiness with your egoistic feelings!"

The word 'egoistic' hit Marth more painfully. Was it so bad to think about her? And was it even his fault? After all, he could not control his heart. And in that moment, he couldn't say anything else, so he just disappeared through the door.

Pleased, the koopa waited some seconds before entering too.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - -

It had been around 20 minutes since she arrived and she felt terrible. But the worst thing was that she didn't knew why, why did Roy's eyes look at her as if she had done something wrong? Yes, he had greeted her politely, but the look on his eyes... she was confused.

Zelda wasn't there, so she had no one to talk to about this.

"Peach? What are you doing here?"

"Nothing. I just like this place." She answered without looking at him, she recognized Marth's voice anyway.

Marth sat down next to her, smiling. The fountain of dreams was one of his favorite places. "So do I."

She looked at him thoughtfully, there was something in his smile that made her want to smile, too. She did so, and stayed silent. _I should ask him about Roy... no, it's not so important._

"How was yesterday?" As he spoke, Peach noticed his smile faded for a second.

"Okay. Just okay." She had surprised herself with her answer. An hour before she would've said 'wonderful', but now, looking into his deep blue eyes, it didn't seem so good. _Should I...?_ Withouth thinking twice, or even completing the idea in her mind she spoke.

"If you have nothing to do, would you like to go out and spend the day with me... tomorrow? You know, as friends."

Smiling more widely, Marth nodded, without noticing the pink color in her cheeks as she said 'tomorrow'. She smiled back and stood up, "Well then, see you later." That was all she said before leaving.

After around ten seconds, the prince realized what 'tomorrow' meant. February 14th. Valentine's day. He'd have to work on the 'As friends' part, but it he still had a date. As if on cue, he stood up quickly, grinning. "YES!"

**Yay for Marth! Ifm you liked this chapter, you should thank noisemaze and ptpeach instead of me. I owethem all the inspiration, thanks for the favs!**


	5. Something always goes wrong

**Wow, I really made you wait a lot, didn't I? I'm sorry, but I wasn't getting any inspiration, and I still don't, but I had to write something to let you know I'm alive. Besides I got two threaths... that really makes people write.**

**I've seriousy thought about a twist to put in here, as DMReturns suggested. I still can't think of any big one, but I'm trying. Any suggesion will be considered, and I will give the credit to the reader if I use it.**

**Hopefully this chapter will do well anyway.**

_Saving my Valentine's day._

**_Chapter five: Something always goes wrong._**

The day went smoothly, but unusually large for Marth. It was weird... the only thing he wanted was for the time to go by quickly, and it seemed to slow down only to bother him.

He had been smiling all day, and could only nod when someone talked to him. There was a dreamy glitter in his eyes as he stared off onto space, glad that he finally was home. That night, just as in many others before, he dreamt of a certain woman with shining eyes and perfect lips, holding his hand tightly and smiling at him.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Yet Peach was a completely different story. She felt insecure, she felt confused, she felt... weak. And that was what she hated the most, what she hated of herself. And she really had no idea of why she was feeling that way.

Why, if nothing was wrong? She was going to have a day with a friend, and probably get the chance to clear her mind and forget about all. Maybe even starting from 0.

To hell with Roy, to hell with Valentine's day, and damn, to hell with love. She didn't need it, as long as she had some friends to turn to. Friends... like Marth, for example.

But then, why did she ask Marth out for the day? She had been clear enough, 'Just as friends', but why in that day? Why did she feel like she was lying to him and herself?

... She just needed to rest, things would be simpler to think about in the morning.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Free day. Samus was always bored on free days, but only because she spent them doing nothing, and she never got the chance to just hang out with someone.

But not that day, that free day would be different. She was going to make it different.

_Let's see... Link's probably busy. Marth surely doesn't have time for a'senseless celebration'... Roy, then._ She smiled a little as she remembered Marth's complain about wasting time celebrating too many days in a year. She also remembered clearly Link and Roy's several tries to make him a huge birthday party five months ago, later discovering it wasn't really his birthday.

But someone had insisted not to waste all the time they spent preparing it and have a party anyway. That one had been Roy. He always could come up with something to say, jokes to crack in innapropiate moments, and... _You should stop thinking and call before you die of boredom. _She mentally scolded, noticing she was drifting away in a sort of uncomfortable and awkward train of thought.

She had been having those thought since the day before, incluiding a dream last night she didn't want to remember. It was an unknown situation for her, too complex to understand it and too simple to accept it.

She took her cellphone,with some embarrassment finding herself to be feeling much less brave. After a quick glance through the window to discover a cloudy day, Samus shook her head, as if to clear her mind, and dialed Roy's number.

One ring.

Then a second one.

"Hello?"

She regained as much of her composure as she could. "Hi Roy." She said, now calm.

"Oh, hey Samus."

She swallowed hard.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Apparently, Peach had been wrong again. It had actually gotten worse as the hours passed. _Stupid free day, it wouldn't have been too bad to work today. _

Hands sweating, she walked in circles around her room, her eyes lingering for a moment in the mirror. Her choice had been a light purple dress, also light in weight. Itwas a litte tight, making the curves of her body clear. She smiled at her reflection, trying to give herself some confidence and failing miserably.

A knock. _God... _Wait, she wouldn't hear it from there. Another knock followed, and she thought it sounded like something hitting glass.

And before she could even ask herself what it was, she heard a loud crash, the sound bouncing in the walls and echoing through the castle. Pieces of stained glass from the window fell in the floor, some cutting her arms as she used them to shield her face.

The scene was too familiar to her, and she knew what was coming. Several curses were going through her mind, taunting her to say them aloud, but her teeth were gritted so tightly in hate and anger that she didn't even try to speak.

Peach stood firm, unafraid, ignoring the pain that came from her right arm. The lights were out, probably broken by a shard of glass, so the only light that the room had came from the broken window.

Yet it was blocked by something huge. An enormous koopa, who she knew too well.

"What do you want?"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Marth could see the castle, not too distant, rising majestically and making a strange feeling inside himgrow. It was likea part of him, nervous,wanted to turn backand return, while the other half, unable to wait, yelled at him to hurry and reach the place already.

He was walking slowly, but each step was firm and confident, adding to his serious face. He would be there in around three minutes.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The koopa chuckled. It's deep voice reverated, it's orange eyes shining in the dim light and sending goosebumps down the princess' spine. Bowser was smirking as maliciously as ever, enjoying the knowledge that she wouldn't do anything against him. Knowing she wasn't strong enough.

It's hot breath was on her face, and she could almost feel it becoming fire and burning her skin. "Oh, just stopped by for a visit. Is it a bad moment, princess?" It mocked an innocent smile.

"It's always a bad moment, Bowser." Peach spat, hoping someone had heard the noise and would come.

There was a click. The doorknob. _Oh, damn..._Peach had locked the door when she was changing clothes. In the outside Toad was calling her name, turning the doorknob almost deperately, the squeaky voice clear enough in the room for the two to hear.

She inched away from the king of koopas, and ran for the door.

But then something hit the back of her head. The room twisted in her eyes, fading to black as she fell to the floor. Before losing consciousness, she heard Bowser muttering something, but could only hear one word clearly enough to recognize it. "...mine..."

**There you go, chapter five. For some reason, I love to write about Bowser, but then, I love to write about badass people/things. Now I have something to ask.**

**Could you please check my profile? There are some fics I'm writing, but I don't have any title! Maybe you have checked before, but I made some important modifications.**

**Thnanks y'all, I don't understand how this thing haves 7 favs and3 alerts, but I'm glad you guys like it. Now review! I'm hoping to reach 100 reviews in the 10th chapter (yeah, sure I will).**


	6. Familiar situation

**Wow! The favs are still 7, but the alerts are now 8! Thanks a lot to anigirl7789 (please update your story), annalisavk, Chozo-Warrior, DarknessFalls9, noisemake, ptpeach, Soelle and Yellow-Duckie.**

**This chapter is dedicated to the people who have stayed with me for some chapters. But it goes, too, for Soelle, because she's reading this though she doesn't like Peach. And I need to change her opinion about her!**

_Saving my Valentine's day._

**_Chapter six: Familiar situation._**

Smiling, he knocked on the door again, what was taking her so long to open it? He was feeling impatient by now, but while he was raising his hand to knock a third time, the door finally opened before him.

"It's terrible! Terrible!" Before he could even greet, Toad was walking around the living room, not going anywhere, yelling the same thing over and over again. After a while the squeaky voice was beginning to get on his nerves.

"What's so terrible?" He asked, trying to follow him through the room, finally catching up and grabbing the small shoulder of the creature. It stopped, apparently about to have a nervous breakdown.

"Oh prince, it's so, so terrible!" Toad uttered. Now Marth was greatly annoyed. "Listen. I am looking for Peach, could you relax for a second and tell me where she is?" He spoke slowly, as if trying to explain something to a child.

"But it's te-" Marth cut him with an even more annoyed look, motioning him to explain. Toad sighed. "The princess... I don't know what happened..." The voice sounded scared and confused as those words were said. As he heard this, the prince reacted by grabbing the little strange-headed creature's shoulders more forcefully. "Where is she?" Face serious, determined.

Toad got away from his grasp and walked to the massive staircase. Marth followed, assuming it would show him something. He was led up the stairs, into a hallway, and finally they stopped in front of a door. The prince tried to open it, but found it to be locked. "So?"

Toad looked down. "The princess said you would come today. She was in her room and I was in the kitchen when I heard the glass breaking. Then I ran to here but I couldn't open the door. So I called her but I didn't hear a thing. Nothing." It shook it's head to emphatize. Marth nodded comprensively, then pressed his ear against the door. "Peach?"

No answer. "I think she's not there." The nervous voice of Toad sounded again. "Peach?" Marth called, more loudly.

And again,no answer. He took a step back, then hit the door with his shoulder. It creacked, but didn't break. He hit it again, then a third time. When his shoulder started aching, it broke, allowing him to enter the room.

As he stepped inside, he heard a breaking sound. _Down?_ He looked at his feet, finding broken stained glass, which came from the gigantic window. "What happened here?" Marth said, half to himself. But this had, apparently, made a click on Toad's mind, recognizing the familiar scene."Oh, no! It must have happened again!"

"What? What happened again?"

"Bowser must have taken the princess!"

_Bowser... _A voice on his mind growled, for a moment allowing anger to take over his body, but he had to shut it down. There was no time. She was in danger. _If I had arrived a minute before..._

_- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - _

Roy noticed his body stiffening, though he would like to slap himself and get going. He walked to the door, still not relaxed at the idea of Samus wanting to spend Valentine's day with him, but before he could touch the doorknob, he heard a ring for the second time in that day. He had always thought that stupid ring to be annoying, and this wasn't an exception.

Impulsed by the desire of shuting it as soon as possible, he answered quickly, taking it to his ear instanty, not caring to see who's number it was.

"Roy, I need help." Direct, simple, Marth's voice made him sure that something was wrong, what the hellcould be so important? He was busy!"B-but, I was going to go out with-!"

"It's important! Just listen for minute!"

He sighed. Simply had to do it. "Okay, you have my attention."

"Wait minute, were you going to go out with someone? Who?"

"You're getting off topic, Marth." They both paused, then Roy concluded."...it's Samus."

Somehow, he was sure Marth was smirking or chuckling. "Now pay attention, I need you to come to Peach's castle. Right now. Bring more people if you can." A frown was slowly appearing in Roy's youthful face. "What..." His throath had gone dry, he swallowed and cleared his voice before attempting to ask again. "What are you doing there?"

"This is serious, Roy. She could be in danger." He seemed to say it only to clear the redhead's suspects, as if predicting them.

"I understand. I'll be there soon, but what happened to her?" For a time, only silence came from the other side. "Peach was taken away, I'm not sure of what happened, but it might be Bowser. We will discover that. Now hurry!" Then no more words came.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Cerulean eyes were opening slowly, seeing only darkness. _Where...? _The pain on her head made her dizzy, eager to go back to sleep. _Get up! Get up!_ She yelled to herself. Her whole body was numb.

_What happened?_ As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she became aware of her surroundings. Suddenly, the memories of what had happened came to her again, though for a moment she wished she did not remember anything at all.

Her right arm hurted like hell. She sat up straight and noticed a huge wound on it, probably made by the broken glass that had fallen on her not too long ago. It had stopped bleeding, but she saw fresh blood forming a puddle on the stone floor.

Finally she looked around, finding a familiar place. She had been in that cell many times before, much more than she would have liked too.

Oh, how she wished she had someone to talk to. She wished Zelda was there to give her advice, as she always did. _But you're alone. And you still can go through this._ She tried to believe that. Where had her friend been in the last days, anyway? She had not seen her.

Peachsighed, reminding herself that the feeling of loneliness was usual in that dirty, dark cell. Always the same. One could tell that she was already used to it, and now she was expecting to see Bowser coming at any second. He always came, but never did more than talk to her... she had tried, but she never understood why the king treaed her so well, ignoring the fact that she was kept in such a place.

Right then she heard it. The rusted door that led to the cells was opening, the sound was followed by heavy footsteps, heading for the only occupied cell. "What is it now?" She asked before the koopa came to her view.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Samus hadn't said a word since she arrived. Roy's sudden call had left her frustrated beyond words, but now she was about to punch the very first person that got in her way.

"Can't we just go now?" She asked impatinetly. It was so simple! They just had to get into Bowser's castle, kick his ugly ass, and see if Peach was there. In that order, she would prefer. But no, Marth insisted in having a plan, as if three people could ambush the huge place.

At her question, he was looking at her frowning. She could tell he was wondering why couldn't Roy find someone else. He, by the way, was biting his bottom lip nervously."Fine! That's it, you win, we go there and do anything we can. Happy now?" He finally exploded. Behind the green visor, she smiled triumphantly.

"Euphoric." She said sarcastically, already walking to the door.

Behind her, Marth leaned over to Roy, "If we fail, it's her fault." Roy laughed, walking faster and catching up with Samus as she opened the door. How could they fail?

**There you go, I think it was one of the longest chapters. ****Last one got 6 reviews! Okay, I'm not gonna reach 100, but keep reviewing people, thank you all!**

**In case someone besides foxdude33 is wondering, I'll write more fics in English, so be expecting more from me. And remember I still need some help with the titles, so check my profile and help me!**

**Btw, am I the only one who definitely loves Bowser?**

**And am I the only one who definitely HATES MarthxZelda?**


	7. Wasted

**5 Reviews? C'mon, I know you can do better than that! I'm too happy to write well now, so just go ahead and amuse yourself with this. It's still worth reading.**

**A recommendation: read Foxdude's and ptpeach's stories. They totally owned me.**

_Saving my Valentine's day._

_**Chapter seven: Wasted.**_

Down the stairs he went. The sound of his footsteps resounded in the stone walls, growing louder and louder. As he reached the cells, he was greeted with the angry yet tired voice of the princess.

"What is it this time?" Oh, did poor little Peach fear him? Or was that courage real?

He couldn't hide the fact that her little acts of bravery were entertaining, but watching pure fears appear in her eyes was refreshing. Ignoring her question, he advanced until he was right in front of her, eyes glowing as he saw her. So helpless! And so far away from making him feel bad!

"What do you want this time?" She repeated, trying to make her voice sound a bit stronger. He thought about this a minute, what were his real intentions? Was he was drifting so close to the verges of insanity that he was already getting confused by his own mind?

He knew what he wanted, but she could not know. And whata great feeling grew on him as he spoke and saw her expression!"You're staying here, my queen." So confused and angry, so much of that showed by those pretty eyes.

_...pretty eyes? _He was oficially insane now. But that was off the subject, she was opening her mouth to answer.

"Don't ever call me that again." Such a bold attempt to pretend she didn't fear him didn't deserve his consideration. "And I am not staying here for much longer." She added, maybe even believing herself.

He paused to watch her. "You don't what you are saying. Now, you should greet your cellmate."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Samus was walking behing him, and Marth in front, leading the small group into the aparently endless forests. He was sure they were lost by now, yet he still continued. Peach would be just ahead, waiting for him, ready to greet her hero...

"Roy!" He was smacked in the head and put out of his daydreaming.

"What is it?" He questioned, looking at Samus partially sorry and partially annoyed. More annoyed than sorry, I must say.

She cleared her throat. "I was asking which of us goes first."

"Leave that for when we actually get there." Roy replied, wondering if they would reach the damn place someday. "But I think I should go first..." There he was, slowly fading into another daydream, this time much less noticeable.

Samus rolled her eyes. Ahead, Marth stopped, taking a look to the sky. "It's dark, we should camp."

"Camp? If we rest now hunger will be eating us alive when we get there. Did you even care to bring some food?" Roy was sure they would be fine, and he thought Samus had to be upset about something to come up with such a ridiculous complain.

In fact, she did look upset during all the walk there. Was it that maybe Toad had given them wrong indications to get to Bowser's castle? Or something else? What could it be anyway?

"We'll be fine, Aran. Some sleep would do well." It seemed that Marth had noticed, too.

"Wathever you say." Was all she answered before they started to ge ready for the night.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"...Zelda?" She was staring into what had seemed like a corpse a minute before. The hylian's state was terrible: several cuts and bruises were pread across her now sickly pale skin, like she had just gotten out of a serious fight. Peach couldn't tell if it was from blood loss or sickness.

Zelda smiled weakly, her voice seemed to be near to breaking as she tried to convince her friend that nothing was wrong. "But how did you end here? Why are you so hurt?" Those were the only clear questions that came from Peach's lips, while the others were lost in uncontrolable mumbles.

She just couldn't concentrate, yet Zelda still answered. "It's a long story Peach, I can't tell you now. Need to rest..." Her eyes closed, and the more healthy princess feared. However, Zelda noticed, and tried to calm her. "I am fine. Better than yesterday anyway. I'll recover."

Her breath was difficult, but she soon fell asleep. Peach decided to can her questions for later, just trying to find an answer by herself. _Why did Bowser bring her? She's not guilty of anything at all._

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Marth was already asleep next to the fire he had lit, but Samus couldn't rest. He was sure she was used to sleeping in the ground and ignoring how umcomfortable it was, but that didn't sound as the reason.

He couldn't rest either. He just didn't feel tired, so he was sitting there, looking at the flames dance and dance with their warm light, which made his relax. A nice spectacle he would always enjoy to see.

"...damn." Roy heard Samus curse, sitting.

"Finally you realized you won't get any sleep, huh?" He sad, getting a nod as an answer.

She began watching the fire, too. No words were needed to say, no questions to ask, just silence among them. "I don't get it, how can Marth sleep?"

He shrugged. That was a good question, after all, he had to be preocuppied aabout Peach's whereabous and their own. "Samus, can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

What was he thinking? He didn't really want to ask her, but he felt as if he had done something wrong. And he had to correct it. He stared at her for some seconds, trying to see her face through the green visor. Hell, couldn't she even rest without that suit on? Could it be that she didn't want anyone to see her face? That didn't sound possible... Damn! He was drifting again! In the past few days he hadn't been able to concentrate on anything. But now his original train of thought was returning to his mind. Judging by the position of the moon, it had to be around 11p.m. Maybe if he just asked, he would not consider the day wasted.

"Did I do something to make you upset?"

For a while, she just sared blankly.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Zelda didn't look like she would wake up anytime soon, and she was left just to sit there and think of way to escape. If she got wel soon, Zelda's magic could be a great help, but probably Bowser was ready for that.

She had been pondering for a long time, and now she was just bored. Next to her fiendshe had found some bandages she thought she could borrow after she treated all of her wounds. Her arm felt beter, but she had nothing to do.

Moonlight could be seen through a small window, out there only to let air enter. The day was almost over. Valentine's day had been completely wasted, she declared to herself, though it was still not over.

**Here you have a spoiler for chapter eight:**

**Roy, Samus and Marth finally arrive. Even with Roy's complains, Marth is sent in and he has one hour to come out before the other two enter. Will he defeat Bowser? I'm not really sure, I'm just making this up a I write. ****Some peeks into the koopa's insane mind (yeah I'm beginning to see him like that), Zelda dissapears from the cell, and Peach gets a new cellmate.**

**Please, don't stop reviewing. I know the story is advancing slowly, but next chapter will be better, I just need to know the time I use writing is actually worth it.**

**PD: MarthxPeach pwns j00 n00b. And thanks foxdude for the title suggestion. I think I'll use it.**

**Another PD: Woah, I thought GKUCutie was gone (though her review is not showing), but what about sephxtifxvin? And does it stand for SephirothxTifaxVincent? (Don't know anything about FF) There's an unsolved mystery...**


	8. Lost&Found, part I: Lost

**See I didn't take much time? I would have taken much less if I had more reviews! Six of them equals a fast update, and less equals me getting lazy yet continuing thanks to the people who actually did review.**

**IMPORTANT: remeber the spoiler? well, I wrote all of that in one chapter, but it was too long, so I'm dividing it in two: Lost & Found.**

_Saving my Valentine's day._

**_Chapter eight: Lost&Found, part I: Lost._**

One hour. One cursed hour. One hour of waiting, when it could have been him who went inside.

"Why don't we just get in?" No, he wasn't going to wait for one damned our! Roy was just too stubborn to understand it wouldn't be wise.

"Why don't we stick to the plan?" She said bitterly, yet he couldn't see her face. She was relying against a dead tree, on the west side of the koopa's castle, seeming relaxed but truly in constant alert.

He looked away from her. Was she still upset? Maybe there was something she had not told the night before, but it didn't really matter,as he was trying to remember her words exactly. Probably he had missed something.

Dawn would break soon_. I don't understand women! Now what did she say? Hmm... "You're always bugging"? _That had been her first phrase, if his memory didn't fail, and would not luck remind him of how much it used to fail.

What happened after that? He remembered persisting until she released another phrase from the iron grip of her throat. "_Just leave it. It's nothing._" Would that be the womens' way to hint something?

...he was just confusing himself even more, wasn't he?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

One hour. One cursed hour. One hour of being alone and trying to find Peach in the gigantic place.

He was trying not to shake, and so far he was doing well. The hallways just had a gloomy enough look to make anyone shiver, even if it wasn't for how much colder than outside it was.

Two opposite doors lied in front of him. _Pick, Marth. At least you should trust your own decisions. _He took a silent, tip-toed step forward, then another to his left.

_Please be the right door, please be the right door! _His hand lingered in he air, centimeters away from the doorknob. He was doubting. There was just too much in game,and what he was wondering was not his own security, but someone even more important, who he deeply cared about.

For her, he had to continue.

The doorknob was turned slowly, not any sound emanating. He pushed the door a bit, allowing the light from inside show. There seemed to be no more movement. Marth gulped, then pushed it open fully. The creaking sound was loud, but it was soon followed by even louder voices. "Intruder!"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Peach had spent half of the night keepng an eye on Zelda, not seeing any improvement, but she had fallen asleep later.

Just how much rest did she get? Four or five hours? The points is, dawn was coming and the sun showed it's rays shyly, but she was fully awake then.

And she was alone again.

She couldn't explain herself how that happened, but it was true. It was impossible for her to get out alone in her state, and neither would she have left Peach behind, so the only option was that Bowser took her somewhere else.

He was bound to come again, that was for sure, and then she would get some answers, adding to the ones she wished Zelda had told her. After all, she still didn't knew why the hylian was there in the first place.

She was sitting in the back of the cell. She held her knees closed to her chest and rested her head on them, just realizing how much she hated being alone.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

He struggled only in the first minutes, but then realized it wasn't worth it. One of those small koopas may have been easy to fight off, but he didn't stand a chance against the ten that surrounded him, two of them grabbing his arms and leading him to what he expected to be their king's prescence.

Falchion was being carried by a koopa ahead of him, walking unsteadily while trying to hold it correctly, as it was much larger than it's body.

He glanced to both sides, then looked ahead. Too much koopas, too much security, no way he could get out of that one. _One option then... _Actually, there were two: surrender, or try to get his sword and fight Bowser.

Surrender wasn't a real option to him, and so, fighting was his decision. But he had little time, and no plan to retrieve his weapon. _And what if I try to fight bare-handed? ...no, wouldn't work. _That was were a swordsman weakness lied, they depended too much on having their swords. As if they shared a heart, the fighter wouldn't be complete without the weapon.

They had carried him for long, so he assumed they would reach their destination soon, and he had to get armed first. Maybe with his sword, he'd have a chance... No more thinking. He didn't have any other plan, and that was stupid enough to work.

One of the creatures eyes him suspiciously. _Just wait for the correct moment... _It seemed to shrug and ignore him. The one carrying his sword stumbled, taking some steps back, closer to him.

_Perfect! _Thanking all the gods that came to his mind for such luck, he took his arm ferociously from the koopa's grasp and grabbed his sword.

He swung it in the direction of the creature that still held his left arm, trying to hold it tightly, but just as the blade hit it and even before it would cut it's skin, it retreated into it's shell. Marth jumped out of the circle of koopas, stepping into the head of one, and began charging up hisShield Breakerattack.

The blade lighted up. The cretures kept approaching fearlessly, foolishly. Soon it charged to it's maximum, and he released it with a small yell, hitting eight of the nine targets.

The last shelled enemy escaped the hit barely, yet now it looked paralyzed, staring at the prince with widened eyes. Marth advanced to it. "Take me to where Princess Peach is."

"B-but, the king will be so mad!" Zaphire eyes glared, and the feeble koopa surrendered.

"Only King Bowser has a key..." It said, eyes pleading for forgiveness.

Time was short and hopes low. "I was never here." The Altean said, finding it useless to hurt the creature. His prescence would known of soon anyway. And with that he walked forward, blade shining in anicipation for a good fight, difficult nonetheless.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, we go in."

Finally, Roy's behaviour woud return to it's normal, only a bit less annoying. What the hell was up with him, anyway? Of course he could get on her nerves quite a bunch of times, but now it seemed to be more frequent. Was something happening to her instead of him? Didn't matter. He was smiling, and all was erased from her mind.

"Finally!" He said, relieved. Samus could see his hand was ready to grab his sword, as if him and his weapon were both waiting to have a fight.

But he was too impatient, and his loud yet colourful personality had to be kept under control. "Just don't do anything stupid, alright?"

"I won't!" He yelled, funnily offended.

"Shh! See? You have to be quiet, or we'll be caught." He blushed slightly in embarassment, realizing she was right.

She was pretty sure they would work well as a team anyway. She was shadows, he was colors. Oposite, yet connected. _But shadows need the colors, don't they? _Maybe alone wasn't strong. Or maybe she didn't need him at all. And hell, thatsounded so wrong for her.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Days melted together so boredly, to the point where he couldn't recognize time's flow.

And was that annoying sound? Footsteps? Probably just a Shy Guy or a Magikoopa who would talk to him about the same boring matters as always. Battles, lands, power... things that weren't important anymore.

Thankfully, he had something to waste his time on. A little distraction which he couldn't admit, a women who had used her tricks to draw him closer until he was caught in her spiderweb.

And damn, he was foolish enough to take her and hold her captive! How could the princess play such games with his mind?

The sound of footsteps was louder now, growing more annoying, like a clock constantly clicking on his head. Though it soon stopped, only to be followed by the door bursting open suddenly.

And there stood a blue-haired young man, glaring at him, holding a sword tightly. He barely recognized him. Bowser looked at him mockingly, was Marth trying to challenge him? Did the pathetic prince even think of standing a chance?

**3 reviews? Are those readers who want this to be continued? ****There are FAR more than 3 hits. Please review if you liked this, or I will soon consider it a failure and leave it. I'm letting it pass now just because I'm having a great week.**

**And as for Zelda's whereabouts, you'll have to guess. A special prize will be given to the reviewer who gets it right... a cameo! **


	9. Lost&Found, part II: Found

**Thanks a lot people! W00t, this story has reached 50 reviews!**

**Now, about this chapter... you'll have to wait a little more to see where Zelda is, but you will get a glimpse here. Nobody guessed right: it was a character from a Zelda game, though I'm still deciding between two. **

**I really liked writing this one, y'all will soon see why...**

_Saving my Valentine's day. _

**_Chapter nine: Lost&Found, part II: Found._**

Marth ran forward ar full speed, ready to make the first strike, though before his arm moved, a gigantic, scaley hand grabbed him with incredible ease.

He struggled, but he didn't make any improvement. Then, he was thrown across the room, is back hitting a wall painfully. His body would resist more, he hoped, before standing up again.

Closed eyes, deep breath, not ready!

Falchion vibrated anxiously in his hand, he could tell. His spirit pushed his body forward, sword instinctively rising for the attack. He slashed, coming to a stop, not making a scar in Bowser's skin, butin the face his enemywas wearing pain was visible. Another cut, quicker, directed upward in what he called a 'Dolphin Slash', though this one hit the head of his enemy.

And the king stumbled back, his hand reaching to the wound. Marth allowed himself to smile shortly, triumphantly... before the heat of flames was all around him, attemptimg to burn his skin, approaching.

The flames seemed to be dissappearing after a while, clearing the burning circle around him, but the heat had been too much, and he lost consciousness.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A truck should have stepped on her head to make her have such headache! With all the confusion and the blur in which the past days had transformed, it could be possible.

But where was she? "You are safe." A voice said in what seemed like a boom in difference to the silence she had been so used to lately. Her memory wasn't working well, and her body refused to move, claiming it to be too painfull to try.

_...did he just read my thoughts? _Assumingit was he, of course, as the voice didn't make much difference. But that was off the point.

"I did." The voice said. Then she assumed he should be some kind of psychic, not powerfull enough to communicate only by mind, but powerfull enough to read her thoughts.

For a moment, she felt exposed, knowing her mind wasn't working with her at the moment and someone she knew nothing about was free to look into it. Yet she did not fear, though her body still couldn't move.

"Don't worry, I can't see much furter into your mind, princess. By the way, you are under a paralyzing spell, so you do not move until I can heal you completely." Healing her? That had to mean two things: that this person was a magic user, and that he wasn't an enemy.

She looked around without moving her head, taking in her surroundings. Unluckily, she couldn't see a thing in he pitch-black area, not even the person who was talking. "I prefer not to have light entering. Interfers with meditation and with my powers." Definitely this was someone who deserved trust, how could anyone tell her so openly a weakness? Zelda's eyelids were feeling heavier with every passing seconds, and she heard the voice ordering her to sleep before she did so.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

All sounds were amplified in that cell, she realized with some anger. Now she covered her ears, still hearing what seemed like a hundred koopas moving upstairs.

It didn't end, but soon she heard different footsteps, closer than the others. This ones seemed light, or was it just Bowser again, his heavy walking drowned by the never-ending clamor of the koopas?

Peach didn't allow her hopes to go too high. She just waited, expecting the worse since she knew deception was even more unbearable when mixed with loneliness. And it was still a kick in the butt to see Bowser's ugly face show again.

Wait, was he carrying something? Someone, maybe? "Looks like we had an intruder." He opened the cell and threw whatever he was carrying inside, while she recognized it to be a person. She stared questioningly. "If any, we will get the others."

Was he mocking again? Because he spoke as if the idea of more people getting caught would comfort her somehow.

Bowser went out as fast as he came, leaving her to approach her new cellmate.

She practically was limping towards the person, and as she got near she recognized the blue clothing. Once again she shut the hopefull side of her mind.

The sun was already high. Light entered, allowing her to see the person's blue hair, and her heart jumped inside her chest, yelling that it wasn't wrong to believe it was Marth.

"...M-Marth?" She dared to ask timidly, but he was inconscious.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"We're lost." Samus concluded, relying against the wall. They had been walking in a circle, she was sure, and to keep would only make them more tired.

Roy sat in the floor next to her. "I know." He glanced around. "This place looks abandoned. Strange."

"Thanks for the clever remark. I would have never seen that."

He didn't sigh, already used to hearing those phrases from her. "Could you stop the sarcasm for a minute?" He spat, tired. They weren't going anywhere if she didn't change her attitude!

"One minute. Guess that won't kill me." She walked away from him, leaving Roy now extrmely pissed off.

He was just too annoyed with her bitterness. Couldn't she be nice even in a situation like this? He wanted to let her go and walk the circle again, but they were stuck with eachother, forced to cooperate. They used to get along so well, why was she acting like that now?

Roy knew well what was in game. They had to work together, may she like it or not. So, he stood and walked to her, not sure of what he was doing.

She stopped, probably to say something, but he only grabbed her shoulders roughly, turned her aroundand pushed her against a wall. "No more games. What's happening with you, Samus?" He practically yelled.

She stared, wide-eyed. He saw the small glint of surprise behind the green visor, and his grip became less strong. But Roy still held her, waiting for her answer. He had to know. Now.

Both of them ignored the rest of the castle at the moment, but to one who concentrated in hearing, there was something like wood creaking, something moving, and a mechanic sound... some type of trap?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The sound of her own voice was kind of comforting, yet reminded her of how she used to think aloud when she felt too alone to take it anymore. Paranoia, she'd labeled it before, but now she sincerely didn't care.

_It... it's him! _She smiled widely and shook Marth a bit. His eyes opened slowly, just as his hand moved to his head. "...my head hurts..." He uttered softly, as if he thought he was alone.

She didn't move, didn't talk. Just waited for him to be aware of his surroundings and her prescence. Marth rubbed his forehead, rambling something else about headache, then opened his eyes, and looked around.

He turned his head and saw Peach. She was smiling, with tears in her eyes. He shook his head, mentally cursing his eyes for fooling himwith such a realistic mirage.

But then he tried to sit up, and it pushed him back. "You need to rest."

"...You aren't a mirage?"

She laughed, ever so melodiously, then shook her head, struggling to keep joyful tears from leaving her eyes. His face was a strange mix of confusion and happiness.

Marth wasn't thinking at the moment, he just sat up no matter how much she would protest, and wrapped his arms around her, holding Peach tightly for a while. He could see daylight filling the room slowly, signaling February 15th had started quite a while ago. "I'm late, aren't I?"

**Short, but I think this chapter was cute. Go Roy and Marth:D**

**Now review!**

**...please?**


	10. About hopes and the Weeping Eyes

**Hey, I updated faster than I thought. See? It's all because of so many reviews, 7 this time! Keep it up! **

**I changed my mind about who took Zelda, so now I'm using a character that is seen many times in the Zelda games. But not much was ever revealed about him, so I'm creating a bit of the background story. Read on and see if you can recognize this character. **

_Saving my Valentine's day._

**_Chapter ten: About hopes and the Weeping Eyes._ **

"Well?" He asked after a half-minute of silence. He didn't release Samus. However, hearing his voice again made a reaction come from her.

Not the calm explanation he would have liked, though.

"There's nothing wrong with me!" She yelled through clenched teeth, pushing Roy, but he didn't move. He couldn't until she spoke the truth.

He stared apprehensively, giving her the unspoken command of telling more. Resisting the urge to laugh triumphantly, he noticed she was giving in, could it have something to do with their uncomfortable closeness? ...no, couldn't be.

"Maybe you are the one who's acting different." Her voice was cold, as if saying the discussion was over.

But Roy was still as stubborn as ever. "...Me?"

"Are you deaf or just stupid?" She replied, with the usual sarcasm, but he ignored her words, insisting in the last question. "How me? You are the one who is acting like a child!"

"Well maybe it's your fault!" Samus made another attempt to push him off. Her helmet was becoming a bit hotter, as she refused to understand her face was turning from a rosy pink to a bright red.

Thankfully Roy didn't notice. Neither did he move, even though she was using all the strength possible. "My fault?"

"Yes, you idiot! It wasn't me who cancelled our date because of some princess getting kidnapped for the billionth time!"

Hands finally off her shoulders, Roy stared. _...date? _

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Only when their embrace broke, Peach realized what she had been doing. But the weirdest thing was that she didn't even bother to think about it further.

Another insecurity was creeping inside her. "You... you lost?" Marth nodded, looking at the floor. That was what scared her now, how could they get out of this one, if Marth wasn't able to defeat Bowser?

"Roy and Samus came with me. They'll get us out of here, don't worry." She heard him say, though she didn't even look at him, her hopes once again shattered.

Believing there was hope would be a nice change, but she denied it. "What if they lose, too?" Peach got no answer.

Marth just shifted uncomfortably. Then looked back at her, with a concerned face. "What happened to your arm?"

She looked at it, noticing the bandage had several scarlet stains. The wound had probably opened again. "It's nothing." She lied. Oh, how it hurted her to see Marth so concerned!

"Let me see." He said, taking her hand softly and looking at the bandage. It was constantly becoming redder, thus it had to be changed. He glanced around. No bandages, and nothing to use as such.

He ripped the end of his cape, examining it. "Clean enough."

With hat, he unwrapped her bandage, replaced it with the part of his cape, and tied it firmly. He took her hand again. The altean saw no more wounds, and finally, he looked at the princess' face.

Her cheeks had turned pink, almost red. Marth looked at her questioningly, wondering why she blushed, before she gave an answer. "Thanks you, but... could you... return me my hand?" She said the last part quickly, embarrassed.

And he, too, blushed noticing he was holding it tightly.

Both rested their backs against a wall. After all, any escape attempt was senseless, and there was nothing to do. "We'll get out of here, right?" Peach said, doubting if it was true and if she would believe it.

"We'll get out of here." Marth reassured. He looked down, seeing her gloved hand and realizing, not without embarrassment, that he wanted to hold it again.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Samus cursed under her breath. Nice one, that comment! Like she needed a bigger mess... but then, things had gone out of her control way before. And that she hated more than anything.

"Let's just keep looking." With that she began walking away again, as she heard Roy was starting to say something. The heat that was rising to her face forced her to take off the helmet.

...and it was thrown aside as the shell of a koopa hit her.

"What the...?" She raised her cannon in the direction the red shell came from, ready to shoot a missile, but found no one.

A hissing sound.

She turned around, but before even catching a glimpse of the bob-omb she was thrown by the explosion. What the hell was happening? As soon as she could, Samus stood, her eyes darting to both sides frantically.

" Roy?" She called. But she was alone.

"Damn!" Samus punched the nearest wall, cursing again and again their stupidity, they had fallen right into a trap! And the target was caught! She repeated those words in her mind, then suddenly stopped. Was Roy the target? She doubted it, as she was the one who stood alone, vulnerable.

Could she be the target, then? Why could she be it anyway? She didn't have much time to think about this, as it was answered with a sudden pain on the back of her neck. She lost consciousness.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Zelda's eyes were opening again. She took her time, adjusting to the darkness around until she was able to see a single window, curtains covering it.

No pain. Nothing at all, yet she sat slowly, fearing it would come back. But no wounds were visible, not a trace of her battle and defeat (Had it been a dream?). The paralyzing spell was not working anymore, as the healing was complete, but where was her saviour?

She stood, sighing in relief as she noticed her dress wasn't too damaged... she still had the right to be fancy, didn't she?

As she couldn't see much, she closed her eyes and put her hands together, casting a rather small flame, also called Din's fire, which she held without contact instead of throwing it as she did in battles.

Eyes now open, the small light extended as the flame grew.

But then, as if reacting to her spell, a furious wind flew pushing her backwards. The fire was put out, and the room was once again pitch-black.

"No light. That is my rule, princess." From where the wind came, came the voice.

"That was a strong spell." She remarked, surprised, though she did expect this person to be a strong mage. Though at her comment, he seemed pleased, and the room was filled with deep laughter, finally revealing the person to be a man. An old one, she could tell. "Do you have a name?"

"I don't." Zelda raised an eyebrow, then the man chuckled and added: "I don't need a name, princess."

Intrigued, she decided to persist. "But people must call you something."

"My only company are Poes, and they don't use names."

_Poes? _She failed to understand, as in her mind appeared the image of a Poe she had once seen, the Hylian ghosts that wandered only in the country's darkest hour: during Ganon's reign.

"Then Ghost you shall be called." She concluded.

In the complete dark, a short laugh sounded, showing he liked his new name, though he was too old, and at his age growing accustomed to a name was difficult.

"Can I make some questions, Ghost?" Zelda suddenly said, right when it seemed their conversation was over.

"I know what you want to ask, princess, and I will answer immediately." He paused, deep in thought. "I am a servant of the royal family. Amember of the Weeping Eyes, and our job is to protect you, the last carrier of the royal blood."

"I see... a Sheikah, then."

That was enough explanation for the time being. But she still wanted to see him. He was a hylian, maybe one she'd recognize.

"...where do you wish to go, princess?" Ghost asked.

She wondered what to say, before remembering the place in which she had been. _...that'll be a big favour to ask for... _"We Sheikah still have to do what you order." He said before Zelda would ask, reminding her of his ability.

What he said was true. He had to help if she said so, but Zelda didn't want to order him to do anything. "Ghost, member of the Sheikah, the following is not an order, but a favour. You are free to choose."

The hylian princess spoke using the words and voice a royalty member would use in an important announce. "I need your help in a fight. It is a powerful foe, and the life of a friend might depend on this." And she stood firm, waiting for his answer.

**Heh, a bit fluffy. Now the thing will get interesting! Samus will be faced with a decision, while Zelda tries to get the help of the mysterious sheikah. **

**Review, people, review like there's no tomorrow**


	11. Plans and deals

**Oh, why so few reviews? Well, it doesn't matter much, since I realized there are a lot of great stories out there that don't get as many reviews as this one.**

**But this chapter is very good, even f I say so myself, and hopefully it will be good enough to make you people review.**

_Saving my Valentine's day._

**_Chapter eleven: Plans and deals._**

Seriously, she looked like an angel when she was asleep. Strands of blonde hair fell gently in her face, her mouth slightly open, her chest rising peacefully... a real angel if it wasn't for he dirt, and for the blood on her dress.

Light purple, pretty tight, had she dressed like that just to go out with him? It couldn't be true, but it wasn't a dream either.

Marth looked away, concentrating in the time. Samus and Roy had entered a while ago, he could tell, but what was taking them so long? Maybe they did get caught, or worse... He shook his head, as thinking like that wouldn't help.

He looked back at Peach, the gods knew what forces made him do that every five seconds.

He had to let her rest, but he wanted so much to talk to her. For now he would have to just watch her. Her fragile body moved once in a while, trying to find comfort in the stone floor and failing.

Finally, she opened her eyes. "Good day."

They stared for a little, then broke into a fit of laughter. How ironic to say 'good day' in such time and place!

"Whoa... thank you!" Peach said their laughter began disappearing, leaving her in giggles, and realizing hearing a laughs in the place was a pleasant change.

Marth smiled. No answer, no move, just a smile. And she was smiling back, until her eyes became shut tightly and her hand moved to her stomach. "...I'm starving."

He had forgotten. He didn't believe Bowser gave food to the prisoners, and that added the danger of starving to death in the already long list. "That reminds me..." He walked to the small window, grabbing the bars and easily pulling them out. Now it was the princess who stared puzzled.

He reached onto his pocket, then showed her a small dagger. "It took me all night to cut through them." As he spoke, Marth noticed Peach's eyes lingering on the about-to-break dagger, and his hands. Many cuts were spread in them.

"I told you we were getting out of here." He said, making the princess smile again. Could he ever get tired of that? Probably never.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

This time the voice took long before answering. "I understand this is not an order. But I accept, princess."

Zelda's smile grew bigger as her hopes did, too. But she wondered, could Ghost be in god form to fight, considering he would be exposed to light? And again, her thoughts were read by him. "As long as it does not take much time, I will be fine. Of course, I will become weaker, but I still can be of help."

She nodded, for a moment forgetting he couldn't see her through the complete darkness. "So we go now?" She asked anxiously, almost starting to count the seconds.

"It's been a while since the last time I have seen light, princess. I must prepare."

There was a sound like wood hitting the stone floor, and the room became a bit clearer, but still dimly lit. At least, she could see what had hit the floor was a magic staff, producing a small, pale light at it's end.

She struggled to see, and finally she was able to make out the hand that held the staff; pale, almost white. She saw sleeves, just reaching the elbow. Not short, but cut.

All else she could see was a figure covered with a purple cloak, the hood covering the face. But a detail caught her attention. Around the waist was a belt, which had both symbols on it: the Triforce and the Weeping Eye, which represented she Sheikah.

The one she had called 'Ghost', in fact did resemble one.

The light became a bit brighter. "Sleep if you want to, I will take some time to prepare." As he spoke, Zelda realized Ghost was breathing deeply, as if tired, showing his extreme weakness to the growing light.

She only could hope for the best. And she really could use some more rest. Magic was a strong technique, but it wasn't for weak people. She sat and rested her back against the wall of the circular room, instantly falling asleep.

Ghost watched her. Seeing she was fast asleep, he spoke. "Come out."

By his side, a Poe materialized. It had a purple cloak similar to his, also covering the face, but two glistening red eyes could be seen, eternally showing some kind of mocking expression.

"I see Sheikah are still following the orders of the royal family, 'Ghost'." It made small quotation marks with it's long fingers, referring to the old mage's new name.

"We must. We are not free." The mage replied, his voice not angry or regretful.

The Poe laughed, but was shut as Ghost's staff made contact with it's cloak. It jumped back, cursing and yelling it burned. With a movement of his finger, the old man indicated to keep silence. "The princess sleeps, she needs silence."

The Poe ignored the comment. "You can be free. And you know it."

"Only if a carrier of the royal blood says so." Ghost remarked, already knowing what his friend was about to suggest.

"Or if the royal bloodline disappears." It approached the mage, now speaking in a whisper. "She is the last one. If she dies, all Sheikah would be free. Free to get out of the shadows and live among hylians."

Ghost knew that, but he also knew that his people would never live among the hylians anymore, they were doomed to stay in shadows. But such comment was insolence. "Quiet!" He yelled, hitting the Poe with his staff and making it disappear in thin air with what sounded both as a laugh and a horrible shriek.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Roy, was his name? It was, if he remembered well.

It wasn't like it mattered anyway, now he only was a prisoner, hands and feet tied. He was unconscious, and surely he wouldn't wake up for about an hour, all the time he needed.

And less it mattered now that Samus Aran, the last one of the intruders, was waking up. He saw her returning to her senses quickly, and glaring. Oh, she despised him, didn't she?

With a move of his head, Bowser motioned the koopas to release the bounty hunter. There was no danger at all; he was stronger, she was alone, and he had hundreds of servants.

"What do you want, Bowser?" She growled, struggling not to kick him.

He saw her eyes widening. So she noticed her friend was there, another reason to contain aggressiveness, but anger was building up so quickly that it made him think she'll prefer to fight.

Oh, right, he had to answer. "I want to offer you a deal."

She was surprised indeed. "Why should I make a deal with you?"

"Because it'll be the best for your friend." That left Samus without words, and he continued. "Will you hear to it?"

Her only harmless option was surrender. She took it, nodding, resigned. She was frowning, but knew she couldn't do anything. As always, he was in control. "Talk." She spat.

Bowser smirked. "As you know, I have your other two friends: that prince, and Princess Peach." She nodded, as if telling him to end already. "Here is the deal: you take your friend and the prince. Don't bother. Ever again."

She stared coldly, obviously she didn't want him to see what she thought about it. "And the princess?"

"She stays." Her face, her expression... she would agree! Now that'd be wise!

But she changed immediately, with a hateful glare. "Damn you." He didn't react at all. "What if I say no?"

"Then you go alone." That was it, no more options. She would see that getting away with two of the three prisoners was better than returning alone. But what about the other princess, Zelda? Well, that was something she didn't need to know.

What had happened to her anyway? When he threw the prince in the cell Peach was alone there. Maybe just died, and her corpse was in a corner where he didn't see it. She had dared to discover his intentions, and she received the rightful punishment. Now she was not important.

Samus' voice was rising as she spoke. "What if I challenge you? And if I defeat you? I would take everyone." Clearly, she was just saying the first thing that came to her mind. It didn't make sense! She? Defeating him? Just ridiculous, but also sad.

"I give you one hour to make your decision." He was being too good, but he still would win. He simply had to win, there was no other way. Even if she decided to fight him. How unlucky was her friend! Unconscious there, unable to beg for freedom!

**I think it was a great chapter, what about you?**

**I'm really liking Ghost, he's very interesting to write about, even though the background information was made by me.**

**Now review!**


	12. One step closer

**Yay, fast update! Thanks to those who reviewed, specially Bigfoot (anonymous guy who has been following this since it's start, as some others). **

**Now, I'm very confident about this chapter. At Zelda's side of the story, you will find my favourite part of the game Majora's Mask. My fav location and one of my fav characters. **

**About Samus... read to find out. By the way, thanks to katanamaster4 for adding this to his favs!**

_Saving my Valentine's day._

**_Chapter twelve: One step closer._**

"We must go now. Time is short." How quick! She woke up just a second ago and he was ready to leave. Lazily, she got up.

"How will we get there?" She asked, following him to a wooden door.

He stopped in front of it. "Transport, but it can't be done from here. We will have to walk a bit." His cloak was open, revealing a white tunic under it, but the hood still covered his face. Finally he turned the doorknob and opened the door in one swift movement.

The sun was covered by clouds, but Ghost still adjusted his hood to protect himself from the light.

"Where are we?" Zelda asked, looking around. A canyon. Several destroyed houses, a small river coming from a cave. Before she saw anything else, the mage spoke.

"This is Ikana Canyon. We are in Termina." He walked forward and the princess followed, then his pale hand pointed to a gigantic stone door. "That used to be Ikana Castle, but all left there are the bones of the king and his soldiers." Then he pointed to the only dot of colour in the entire place: a big, bright green house near the river. "A child and her father live there. No more people can be found here, but I recommend you don't try to enter."

The princess stared confused. "Why?"

Ghost answered with no emotion in his voice. "Don't you smell blood, princess? It is because the whole place is cursed. Fate cannot take care of that family."

She didn't need to know more, and just followed in silence. She didn't say a word as he led her through the place. Every now and then the scent of blood would fill her nostrils and send shivers down her spine. "Where do we have to go?" She asked after a while.

"The graveyard. We are near."

"If we get there, you'll be able to do the transport spell?" She asked mostly out of the blue, just because hearing her voice would sooth her. It was just the place, the creepy, cursed place.

And he sensed her fear, thus decided to answer. "No. It is a portal, but we need permission to use it."

"From who?" She silently begged to the goddesses to make him say there was a hylian there. Oh, how she wished to see someone else there besides the still mysterious Ghost.

He took some seconds, considering if it would be good to tell her, or just let the princess see for herself. "You will see." He finally said.

Nearly an hour passed before they entered the graveyard. Apparently, Ghost's definition of 'near' was a bit different from hers.

Her mind wasn't concentrated in that for the moment, but in the even creepier graveyard. There was nothing in there for Zelda to see, only the usual graves of Ikana soldiers, a couple of long-dead trees, and a path ahead.

The aura of the place slowly made her drift away from reality, the only thing bringing her back being the constant 'thump' made my Ghost's staff hitting the floor as he walked. She wasn't entirely conscious of where they were going. She just followed him as they advanced.

"Here." The voice of the old mage pulled her out of that world of wondering.

She looked around. There was only a house, and another path ahead, blocked by a huge pile of bones.

"Here... where? I don't see anything."

"Come. And do not talk, we do not want to wake up the grave keeper." He walked towards the blocked path, leaving her to wonder how he would go through.

But he didn't attempt to do that. He sat on his knees in a sign of respect, and his staff hit the floor with strength she didn't think possible of a man his age. It seemed to glow, and the bones began lifting themselves up.

Before her eyes, they assembled, forming a skeleton taller than the house. It's feet too big the human, the skull looking like a fox's with crooked teeth. It's eyes were wide, and they seemed o glow crimson as it bent down.

"Why have you disturbed my sleep?" It's voice was resonating, and it seemed to come from everywhere.

"Skull Keeta, I have come to ask for your help." Ghost said. Skull Keeta, as he just had called the skeleton, nodded it's gigantic head, and he mage stood.

"We need to access the portal."

Skull Keeta paused, pondering, until it noticed the princess. "Who is with you, mage?" The skeleton looked a Zelda, and she could only freeze in the spot. The gaze pierced her so easily... she feared.

"She, sir, is Princess Zelda of Hyrule." Ghost explained, and it somehow looked pleased.

"Hyrule... I have heard legends about that place. But I have seen one, the hero Link. Do you know anything about him?"

"I do." Zelda's voice was about to break, but she didn't allow it.

The skeleton was even more pleased to hear that. "I will let you pass, then." It moved. Ghost bowed and walked to the path, Zelda following. As she passed by the bone figure, he noticed her shivers and spoke to her.

"Do not fear, princess, Ikana is a better place than it used to be. The hero himself made sure of that."

"How?"

"Requested by me, he spoke to my army. They all were already dead like I am, but they still wanted to battle. And the hero told them my message... the war had ended."

She smiled, and began walking o catch up with Ghost. Just as she went by, Skull Keeta collapsed into a pile of bones again.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

She still thought it would be a dream, and she would wake up soon, still trapped in February 14th. But she had already realized it wasn't true. It was reality, cruel and cold.

And lately, it had turned out to be worse. Bowser was watching her, and behind him several koopas held Roy.

Samus couldn't decide. That was it, direct and simple. She could not choose.

But she was forced to. Her mind checked the options once again: Leaving Peach there? Marth and Roy would be free, but the redhead would not forgive her. Which lead her to wonder about Marth's reasons... she would have to think about that later. Fighting...?

No. Samus Aran could never risk her life for such people. A man who didn't tell his reasons, a man who didn't even care about her, and the woman... she just felt hate as she thought about that woman, though there was no reason.

Oh, but why did her own life matter? She knew she was a liar. Samus couldn't even tell herself why she felt hate towards Peach!

None of them were actually worth it. Not even herself. She was just a worthless liar.

And she was forgetting that other option: Surrender. She could leave, and she was sure the King of Koopas would stop her... then she would stay there, not fighting back, and that would be the end. No more pain, no more problems, but she could still be a liar. A more pitiful one.

Leaving the woman she hated sounded tempting, but she could never be forgiven for that, and that would be a worse destiny than living and seeing her take away the one she cared for.

Two options left: Risking her life for those people, or just letting go of everything.

She looked at Roy. She couldn't tell for how much time her eyes were fixed on him, but it was until she stopped lying to herself. As impossible as she thought it would be, she cared for him, deeply, could it be something more?

No, if she loved him, she would have made the decision of fighting long time ago. If she loved him, she would have wanted to see him happy, no matter with who it was. It was a distraction. He was a distraction that couldn't let her think reasonably. And she had stopped lying, though she still was selfish for not wanting him to be happy.

"Time's over." Bowser approached. How she wished to rip that smirk out of his face!

That's when she decided.

She would stop. She would be someone different. She would not lie or be selfish anymore. And Roy would be happy. "I challenge you."

**Please, you must tell me if this is truly good or if I am just over-confident. **

**By the way, this is close to it's end, so let's reach the 100 reviews soon, people! **

**Plus, I have a question: Do you think Bowser should die for being a bastard, or live for being a cool bastard?**


	13. Together

**Oh, do I see a new reviewer? 'Inuyasha is my homeboy', what an interesting name XD Hope to see ya reviewing again! ;)**

**Here, all the main characters will finally reunite. Well people, I'm feeling proud of this chapter. At first it is nothing special, but just read, and in the third scene it'll get cool...**

_Saving my Valentine's day._

**_Chapter thirteen: Together._**

_...What! _How was it possible? He had everything planned, all under control, how could she say something she wasn't supposed to?

But she would pay. She had doomed herself by challenging him, and she would die knowing how stupid that had been. That was it, she would die. Still, he growled loudly, releasing only a little part of his anger.

She wanted a battle? Then she would have it. Her last one.

Whatever conditions for the fight she was thinking about didn't matter, he just hit the bounty hunter with his huge fist, but thanks to her suit she recovered soon, jumping backwards.

...but from there, Bowser became merciless. Hit after hit, in a never-ending sequence. Soon, Samus found herself surrounded by flames, in what seemed to be her loss.

However, she had stated before that her life didn't mater much on this battle. And so, she ran through the fire, luckily her suit protected her well, despite the missing helmet.

Before he could attack again, she was running away. Was that it? He turned and looked around, but couldn't find her. The koopas were all standing silently, not wanting to get into their king's fight.

Then, he was hit by a fully prepared Charge Shot. Thrown backwards, he cursed under his breath. The attack had been thrown from upwards, and the space warrior landed in front of him.

She aimed her cannon at him again, but this time Bowser retrieved into his shell and made it spin in his Whirling Fortress attack.

This was not a tournament fight, but a real one, and thus there would be no one to repair her armour. After being hit several times by the spikes on the koopa's back, it was extremely damaged.

She didn't have time to recover. He grabbed her and threw her behind, and she was feeling weaker with every passing second. On the other hand, Bowser seemed to have no limit, no sings of getting tired. Only a matter of time, at the end he would win. That was just the way it was supposed to be.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

She stared, caught in the dance of the blue flames. She wondered it they would feel cold, or if they would burn her just like common fire.

The ring of blue flames covered enough space for an army to fit. It was the portal, but how did it work? "Um... are we going?" Zelda said, her eyes still glued to the portal.

"Whenever you are ready, princess." Ghost said. "Just walk in. I will take care of the rest and lead us to that foe's castle." The hylian swallowed hard, ready to walk, until she was stopped by a yell.

"Princess! We are here!"

Eyebrow already raised, she turned around to see that a skeleton was talking. A smaller version of Skull Keeta, but then, all of the others behind him were very similar. Between them she could see some poes.

_An army? _Her eyes couldn't find an end to the mass of skeletons, from which one had stepped forward and bowed. "By orders of Captain Skull Keeta, it is the duty of us, army of Ikana Canyon, to help Princess Zelda of the Hyrule kingdom." It said.

Speechless, she stared at Ghost, eyes pleading for an answer. "The Ikana army..." He was whispering, looking as surprised as her.

Then he regained his composure, taking one step towards the army. "Hyrule will ever be grateful with Ikana, and with the land of Termina." His voice boomed in the canyon, confident, commanding. "King Bowser Koopa is our enemy."

Just when she thought he would turn around and enter the portal, his voice sounded once more, more powerful than ever. "A war is ahead. Let us march!" The air was filled with cheers and battle cries as every member of the army raised a fist in the air, most of the bone hands carrying sword and spears.

"It is time, princess." Ghost motioned her to enter the portal. With all of what just happened, she didn't feel fear anymore.

Her fingers touched the flames shakily. Cold. With a gulp she walked through them, and they grew bigger. Ghost stepped in, too, and then the whole army began moving forward.

The flames still danced before her, and she began to feel lighter, until her feet left the ground. From there, all became a blur.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Within the past moments she had been thrown across the room several times, slashed fiercely, and burnt to the point where her armour was no longer of use and it broke. Samus was still breathing.

She couldn't stand up. Bowser was walking towards her, showing again that smirk she hated so much. And behind him, Roy struggled to get free. His eyes switched from her to her enemy, but unlike hers, they still held the immortal flame she had always known. Roy looked at her. Samus was still breathing.

He kept her breathing.

Couldn't stand up, couldn't hear much, and couldn't see much. She didn't feel pain, but that worried her more. Why wasn't she feeling anything?

A giant, shadowed figure stood in front of her. It wrapped a huge hand around her throat. Her feet left the ground, her back against the wall. There was another figure behind the one that held her, struggling against some other small blurs.

Yells. The struggling figure yelled something she barely heard: "Samus!"

Samus... all words had lost their meaning a while ago, and that one wasn't the exception. Whatever it meant, it was voiced in a worried way. The voice was on the verge of tears, she could tell, but why?

The grip around her throat tightened. Her eyes were closed, and her mouth was open, gasping for air. The figure was struggling and yelling desperately, and she could hear only two words. 'Samus'... 'Fight'... What could it be saying?

Her lungs... air, she needed air!

The pain was returning to her body. Her eyes shot open, and she finally saw the face of a red-haired young man. "Samus... please... fight, don't give up..." He talked and continuedto move, making it more difficult for the littleblurred figures to hold him. That face, that voice... she tried to remember, just as she tried to keep breathing.

"King! King!" Another voice called. Theshadow holding her turned it's head. Whatever it saw, it's mouth hung open and his grip was no longer so tight. She breathed deeply, noticing the fast beating of her heart.

She looked to where theshadow had. The double doors were open, and the small figures with green shells on their backs held two tall ones. One of them was a woman with long blond hair, and the other was a man with blue hair and clothes of the same colour.

"This prisoners tried to escape!" Announced one of the shelled figures.

"Hold them!" The huge figure next to her roared. By then, she had regained her breath. But before she could react in any way possible, another creature, this one with a red shell and small wings, came through the door waving it's short arms frantically. "King!"

"What is it now?" The voice of the huge one was angry now.

But the red-shelled creature was quick to talk. "We are under attack!"

She was still being held, but just as those words were said, she was slammed to the floor. Consciousness was slowly dripping away from her, but she could hear the loud sound of many footsteps advancing. Again, her vision was limited to blurs and her hearing only allowed a few words, but she could see a gigantic mass of what seemed like bones entering through the door, stepping over the shelled creatures that were there.

A cloaked man approached the big shadow that loomed over her. He raised a staff, and a powerful, ferocious wind blew the figure away with a roar.

She could see the red-haired man had broken free, and was now beside her, calling... her name? "Samus, can you hear me? Oh please, don't die. Don't die Samus, don't give up."

She wanted to answer, to let him know she was still alive, that he had kept her breathing. But she couldn't say anything. And all she could hear was the sound of the fighting army and the voice of the angel that kept her in that world. "We need you alive, Samus." He shook her, but she still couldn't do anything. And he began sobbing. "Please... I need you here."

**Samus dies or lives? It's up to you, because letting her die sounds tempting to me... Oh, ****the drama!**

**Review! ****Nine people fav-ed this, and other eight will recieve an alert about this update, why don't you review? Next chapter is already written, and it'll be published as soon as I get some reviews. **

**IMPORTANT: Please read (in this section) the fic 'Slightly different' by Lure. Know what? Totally owned me. Much beter than this crap you're reading.**

**_ONLY TWO OR THREE CHAPTERS TO GO! LET'S REACH THE 100 REVIEWS!_**


	14. Fallen

**Here it is people! One or two chapters left now, most surely one, so review now or... something. Something bad. (shrugs) Maybe.**

**Now look at the chapter title, and wonder if I am talking about Bowser, Samus, or both. Isn't my cheap suspense, drama and angst nice? By the way, this might not be as good as you're expecting it to be, sorry!**

_Saving my Valentine's day._

_**Chapter fourteen: Fallen.**_

Zelda was amazed beyond words. Through the confusion of the battlefield and the excitement of her own fights, all she could see were the skeletons and poes beating koopas.

What amazed her was the fact that they were invincible. Poes would just disspear in thin air when attacked, and reappear anywhere to take revenge, while skeletons fought until they were made a pile of bones, then somehow those bones assembled again.

But what left her speechless was Ghost. He flowed through the place easily, hitting koopas with his staff or just defeating them bare-handed. So far, spellshad not been necessary.

She was standing near Peach and Marth, protecting them from any enemies. Both looked unable to fight, so she had strongly said no when Marth offered help. He was supporting the Mushroom Kingdom's princess, who seemed ready to pass out at any moment, however, she didn't look like she would be in any danger for now.

Bowser had backed to the end of the gigantic room, where he fought off the skeletons with ease that didn't worry the princess; they just reasembled and continued. Ghost was making his way through the room, and she could see he tried to reach the king.

"Is she okay?" She yelled, turning her head to Marth.

Peach looked at him, eyelids halfway closed, and nodded, waving her hand in a 'Don't worry' motion. His face was still dead serious. "No."

"But I'm fine!" She protested, trying to stand on her own.

Instantly, her legs failed and Marth catched her. "See? Don't try to move."

_Um... I feel like Imissed something there. _Zelda thought, glad nonetheless. With a content sigh, her attention returned to the battlefield.

The swords of the Ikana army slayed countless enemies anywhere she looked, and the koopas had become few. Ghost was nowhere to be seen. She commanded some poes tofight in her place, then ran through the room looking for the mage.

As she suspected, he was reaching the Koopa King, but there was still some distance between them. "Ghost!" She called, approaching him.

He turned his head slightly, showing that he was hearing her, but still advanced towards his goal. "You can't defeat Bowser alone. Let me help you." He turned to her, motionless for some seconds.

"Thank you, princess." He bowed shortly, and led the way.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_PleasePleasePleasePleasePleasePleasePleasePleasePleasePleasePlease... _Roy wasn't thinking straight, but he didn't give a damn about himself or the rest of the world at the moment.

Was she dead? Could the gods allow such fate to fall upon her? Why, then?

The dry tears on his cheeks were quickly replaced with new ones; he couldn't stop. He shook her constantly, every five seconds pressing his ear to her chest and checking for heartbeats. "Please, Samus... please don't die."

His fault.

Roy didn't understand why or how, but it had to be his fault. Just felt responsible for what was happening. "Stay here, Samus." She was going to leave him, and it was his fault.

Again, he leaned to hear the heartbeats. Bah-dum... bah-dum... Lost hope could rise again when he heard it, but hell, it was beating so slowly! That couldn't be good, and he wondered if time was making her recover, or just finishing Bowser's job.

Whatever. He'd stay there anyway.

They were at the back of the room, near the door. All the skeletons were congregated on the front. At first, he had beenworried, but that was soon replaced with relief as he noticed they were on his side.They were the good guys, and they would win. The last enemy standing, Bowser, would fall soon, but there wasn't space for him to celebrate that.

"I don't want to lose you..."

But if they were the good guys, why was Samus dying? It wasn't fair! What happened to the 'happily ever after'? He had to get his happy ending, and for that Samus had to live.

How he wished to at least talk to her a last time... "I'll never make you upset again. I won't bother you. I'll do anything... but stay with me, okay?"

But she didn't answer. He sobbed more loudly.

Roy stared at her face. Her lips slightly open, but silent. "Come on Samus... say anything. Call me idiot." He'd accept anything only to hear her voice.

That led him to wonder about what he'll do if she didn't get through this. What if he was left with no one to tell him when he was being annoying? What if there was no one to remind him that he was an idiot? What if that was their good-bye? What if... he lost something he really needed?

He should never tell, but those thoughts scared him.

Arms wrapped around her almost limp body, he held her close, as if trying to keep her there in the world of the living. He didn't want to let go, as he was afraid that if he did Samus might never open her eyes.

...was he daydreaming, or did he hear a light moan come from her?

And he was there, crying, when he felt her arms lock weakly on his back, as Roy and Samus now shared the embrace. Her voice was soft as she whispered in his ear. "I love you, idiot."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Bowser stared in disbelief. All, just falling apart, but how did it happen? He had been in control all the time! Everything happened when he wished so, but this was something he did not. All because of that princess, who tricked him with her charm and made him fall right into a trap.

A spell. That had to be it. She probably made a spell on him, all the while laughing on his back, when he thought he was winning.

His kingdom. What would become of it? His soldiers were being defeated, and he was next. Scratch that. After a second look, he saw all of his soldiers were already defeated. The army of skeletons and ghosts ('Poes', as he had heard) was closing on him, indicating his nearby end, and taunting with their bright red, mocking eyes. In front of all of them, was a cloaked man. By his side, Princess Zelda.

He growled in anger, wondering why he didn't kill the hylian before, but could it have made any difference? No way he could know, no way in which it would matter.

His eyes scanned the army. On the right end, was the last person he would like to see on the moment of his death: Peach. And, seemingly only to make it worse for him, prince Marth or Altea held her tightly, protectively.

With renewed anger, he glared. The cloaked man raised his staff, and before he could react, the ferocious wind coming from it pushed him backwards and made him fall to the ground. It all would be over soon. He didn't care to fight anymore.

"Careful." Zelda said softly, and the mage nodded before advancing to him.

He still didn't stand, accepting what was to come. "Curse you." He managed to utter, as the end of the man's staff was placed on Bowser's forehead. Nothing could be seen under the hood, but the king was sure that he was grinning.

"I already am." Ghost replied. Then, unbearable pain filled Bowser, it's source being his forehead and the spot where the staff met his skin. However, it didn't last long. King Bowser Koopa squeezed his eyes shut. Everything faded to black.

**I know, it was short! Soree! Bad authoress, no 100 reviews for ya!**

**Please review!**


	15. Final Chapter: Gathered Pieces

**Last chapter here, people! Sorry for taking so long, I was kinda blocked. Let me tell you it's not the 'Oh so awesome' finale, but I liked it a lot. And it's extra long.**

**I wold like to spend 1000 words saying how much you reviewers rock, but I can't, which doesn't mean I don't apreciate you. YOU DO ROCK A LOT, YOU ALL MADE THIS POSSIBLE. **

**I will continue writing for this section, so don't forget me! And please review, just one last time! I promise this won't dissapoint you!**

_Saving my Valentine's day._

**_Chapter fifteen: Final chapter: Gathered Pieces._**

It was over. That just didn't make sense. Of course she'll be more than happy to accept it as a fact! But... over? No more of the constant fear? No more Bowser? Hell, so miracles did exist.

A gloved hand waved in front of her face. "Hey Peach, you there?"

For a moment she had forgotten about Marth, or anyone else for that matter. "Yeah, just... trying to believe this!" She laughed shortly, happily. Leaning against the wall, she let herself just flop down, as he did the same.

They watched the army retrieving, barely able to hear themselves among all the noise.

All of it was too much. An army of fighting skeletons, a Sheikah mage, and Bowser finally out of the way. "Kind of strange, isn't it?" She tilted her head to the side a bit, listening to Marth. "So much happening in such little time." She understood; she had felt the same. Just when she was beginning to realize all of what was going on, it had ended.

"I know." She closed her eyes thoughtfully. "Maybe it isn't the end."

The prince chuckled. "Hell Peach, don't start with cheesy lines! You know, they only sound cool in the movies." She laughed along with him, partially wondering how he was able to say a joke in that moment.

"Last time Princess Peach gets kidnapped." She announced dreamily.

"And got saved by Prince Marth who seriously thinks she's a bit crazy."

She laughed a bit, then spoke accusingly. "If I remember well, you got your ass kicked big time, just as Roy and Samus. Actually, Zelda saved all of us."

"So that is how a princess talks, eh? Nice vocabulary." He said, smiling widely. "I may have gotten my ass kicked, but I still deserve some credit."

"Sure." She said sarcastically, rolling her eyes and only getting a laugh from him as an answer. She glanced at him, noticing his eyes were strongly fixed to the leaving army. For some reason, she felt her eyes becoming wet... was it possible to cry just out of happiness? Just how stupid was that?

Without anything to do, she let a single tear slid across her cheek."Why are you crying?"

"I'm being so dumb... you must think I'm weak." She managed to hold back the tears for a second, but they slipped away.

"I wouldn't think that!" He replied.

"Don't lie; I don't mind. It's true. I got kidnapped all over again, and I still couldn't do anything. Like always." So, so true! Long ago she had a made a promise to herself: she wouldn't be the weak princess everyone thought she was. She would be strong, and she would not cry ever again. And she had broken her own promise!

"No." He said firmly. "You have proved you're strong by going through all of this without giving up." He was looking directly into her eyes, encouraging her to believe.

She flashed a smile, how couldn't she agree?

"I wonder... wouldn't you get mad at me if I did something stupid?"

She rose an eyebrow, staring, with a question at the tip of her tongue yet unspoken. _What are you talking about?_ He seemed to be realizing what he had said, and pondering what to say.

"Close your eyes." If possible, her eyebrow rose higher. "Only for a sec!" He said, and she obeyed. _Bet he stole something. _She thought, expecting in any second to hear him commanding her to open her eyes and showing her an item. But that didn't happen. One second passed, and nothing. Two seconds, and nothing. Around reaching five seconds, she was impatient. It might beconsidered ascheating, but she opened her right eye a little, unnoticeably.

_What... the...? _Frozen there, she tried not to let her eyes widen as he saw the altean prince's face inches away from hers. His eyes closed, his lips slightly parted, and his breath quick and nervous. Marth leaned in closer, and their lips touched timidly.

Not even the soft touch was enough to make her react. She didn't return the kiss, neither did she reject it. But where was her mind at the moment? Not with her, for sure. And, upon noticing she was not pushing him off, the prince decided to dare, and his lips pressed against Peach's a bit more strongly, while his hand moved to her cheek.

She wasn't moving or thinking at all, and on the other side, Marth was too frightened to taste the kiss.

Frightened. First, at himself, for acting without thinking, may it be worth it or not. And frightened of letting go, what would she say then? And what would he say to explain such action? This time, Marth could swear, he had really screwed up everything. And finally, when he ran out of air, the kiss ended.

"I-I'm sorry..." He said, hand still where it had been, unable to look at her face. Could it be showing disgust, anger, or both?

"Don't be." She said, not looking at him either.

All he did was stand, offering his hand to help her up, which she accepted with an expression he wasn't looking at. "Forgive me. I wasn't thinking. I won't do it again." He tried to say, but the words didn't came out too clear.

Peach didn't say anything. Wouldn't she... at least say what she thought about it? Strangely, he wanted to know just as much as he wanted her not to speak. "You don't mind? You aren't angry?" He dared to ask when she was about to move.

"Guess I just need a minute to think."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Amazement filled her, making everything else silent to her ears. Walking skeletons formed in lines, leaving... a fantastic spectacle, accompanied bythe mental imageof their captain, Skull Keeta.

"Princess." Calling for the fifth time, he finally got her attention. "Is my duty complete?" The Sheikah was bowing, but just as the princess noticed, she motioned him to stand. Although she was used to such formalities, being royalty, she felt it was her who had to be respectful towards the mage.

She sighed. The Sheikah were just bound to be like that. "You can return." She said.

He nodded, now standing straight, and walked to the army. "Can I ask you something?" Zelda said before he would take two steps. Again, he nodded. "How did you knew I needed help? How did you find me?"

He laughed heartedly. The deep, tired laugh of an old man. "The Sheikah watch over you." He paused, thinking. "We are like your guardian angels. You shall not see us, because we are just shadows of the hylians, but whenever a member of the royal family needs our help we will be there. Our purpose is to protect you and make sure the royal bloodline does not disappear."

Zelda looked at the floor. "And are you... happy with this?"

"I have accepted it as my purpose in life." He reassumed his path, leaving behind the princess, who was feeling rather embarrassed at the idea of the forced agreement between her family and Ghost's race.

Decided to get a real answer, she followed him, grabing his shoulder with little strenght. "Answer me."

Even as she was unable to see his face, she could tell he sighed. "If you are happy, we are too."

"But you're not."

Ghost paused to look at her. Her figure stood straight, strong yet delicate as she said the phrase. The tone of her voice left no space for doubt, labeling it as a fact."You command and I obey. That is how it works."

"Then I have an order for you and all of the Sheikah." She almost yelled, making a spectacular attempt to contain herself. He bowed to recieve the order, but the princess interrupted with a 'no' before his knee touched the floor. "You won't bow ever again." He stared questioningly, although knowing she couldn't see the expression of his face. He knew what she was going to say, but hope wasn't allowed to take over him just now.

"This has to stop. Living in the shadows, bound to my family, without the right of freedom... you did nothing to deserve such life." She said.

Her voice became louder as she continued. "The Sheikah have fulfilled their duties, your services are no longer required." Anticipation seemed to affect even Zelda's voice, making it linger in her troath."...I declare you free!"

The last members of the army were going through the doors, but they suddenly came to a stop.

Zelda bit her lower lip nervously as all heads turned to see her. All those shining crimson eyes, the exposed, crooked teeth of the skeletons, all turned towards her. And she just stood there without moving, until Ghost's voice broke the silence. "Very well." Movement returned. The Ikana army began walking again.

"Thank you, princess." He walked away, toward the door.

He reached it, but before going through, his cloaked firgure disappeared in thin air, along the sound of the army's footsteps. They were gone.

"I've had enough of this for a lifetime." The princess turned to see Roy, staring with confused blue eyes. His sword was seathed, and in his right hand was Samus' extrememly damaged power suit.

"I agree." Said Samus, who looked like she would fall if Roy wasn't helping her to stand.

Without anything to say, she glanced around the room, searching for the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom. The room was empty, but before she could look around half of it... "What in the hell!"

"What is it, Roy?" Zelda asked.

"Look at that!" Both hands occupied, Roy signaled with a movement of his head. Both the hylian and the bounty hunter looked to where he indicated, their jaws instantly falling open. In the opossite side of the room were Peach and Marth... eyes closed and lips locked in a kiss. Samus was the first one to speak.

"I didn't see that coming."

Neither did Zelda, but she would bet the more surprised one was Roy. To confrim such, all she saw when she looked at him was a blank stare. But before she could say something, not even sure of what, a wide smile formed on his lips. "Way to go, Marth." He said, loud enough for only them to hear.

The hylian sighed. "Is there something else I need to know?" A short silence followed, while Roy and Samus exchanged looks that Zelda didn't notice.

"No, nothing." Roy said.

"Shouldn't we get going? I must rest, and my armor has to be repaired." Samus quickly added, eager to change the subject. This didn't go unnoticed fo Zelda, but when she was about to speak she was interrupted.

The voice belonged to Peach. "Agreed."

"Ditto." Said the swordsmen, in unison, their voices sounding tired.

"Fine. But before..." The princess paused, half-smiling as she looked at Marth and Peach. "What's going on beween you two?"

The prince of Altea instanty looked away, staring at his shoes as of they had turned to be quite interesting. Peach just laughed nervously, as her mind searched for a proper answer as quickly as possible. "Um... long story."

"Oh, we have time!"

She wished to say 'Shut up Zel', but different words came out of her mouth. "None of your business, dear." Did that mean she was unsure? Was she imagining things, or heat was rising to her face? Maybe it was just the way Zelda looked at her. 'I see how it is...' Her eyes told her.

The Mushroom Princess sighed in relief as the hylian one turned. "Okay, time to go!" Sweet, sweet relief... did someone grab her hand just now? The prince. His touch doubting, soft, and strong at the same time.

Roy had noticed, and instantly jerked his head to look away. He followed Zelda. His lips curled in a playful grin, like a secret-keeping child, with a voice just as happy-sounding, mixed with contained laughter.

"Just wait till we tell Link all of this!"

All of them laughed shortly, thinking of what would be Link's expression when he heard the whole tale.

Between giggles, Peach found herself holding Marth's hand quite tightly. Many weird things had happened, and she thought many more would in the times to come. But about this one, she discovered that she didn't mind at all. Their eyes met briefly. Smiles were exchanged.It was not love or anything close to it, she believed, but that was nothing time wouldn't change. After all, love had played pranks on her for a while, and it did owe her a favor.


End file.
